Student & Alumni News

Published: September 15, 2013

Author: Rebecca Hicks

Our students and alumni continue to make us proud, from our recent graduates at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, to student and alumni award recipients. This year we had a record number of graduates, and we are happy to celebrate this milestone with them.

Student and Alumni Awards

William Hergenrother (Ph.D. ’63) is the recipient of the Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award from the Rubber Division of ACS. This award honors scientists “who have exhibited exceptional technical competency by making significant and repeated contributions to rubber science and technology.” Dr. Hergenrother is a research fellow at Bridgestone Americas Center for Research & Technology.

Rick Connell (Ph.D. ‘89) was selected to receive the 2013 Graduate School Distinguished Alumnus Award. Dr. Connell obtained his Ph.D. under Paul Helquist, and subsequently became Global Executive Vice President at Pfizer. He recently held a one-year assignment as the top executive at Pfizer’s new research facility in Shanghai, China, while continuing in his capacity as Vice President of External Research Solutions.

Renee Bouley (graduate student of Shahriar Mobashery and Mayland Chang) received a prestigious ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship. She was one of only four recipients for the 2013-2014 cycle. This Fellowship supports her work on the discovery of a new class of antibiotics selective against staphylococcal species of bacteria, including MRSA. She was also selected to receive an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship (declined).

Hao Wang (graduate student of Zac Schultz) and Aamir Ahmed Khan (graduate student of Scott Howard in Electrical Engineering) are the first two recipients of the Berry Family Foundation Graduate Fellowships in Advanced Diagnostics & Therapeutics.

Jennifer Arceo (graduate student of Norm Dovichi) received a 2013 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Major Gooyit (graduate student of Shahriar Mobashery and Mayland Chang) received the 2013 Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Graduate School Award in the Sciences at Notre Dame.

Graduations – Bachelor degrees

Bachelor of science degrees were award to 27 chemists and 17 biochemists in May. The newest alumni are:

Chemistry

Ryan Ackmann,summa cum laude, Pewaukee, WI

Anthony Albert, Long Grove, IL

Andrew Anderson, West Bloomfield, MI

James Baker, magna cum laude, Darien, CT

Patrick Bishop, Verona, NJ

Briana Cameron*, Jacksonville, FL

Matthew Catenacci, East Amwell, NJ

Mara Catlaw, Interlaken, NJ

Malcolm Chan, cum laude, Bellevue, WA

Heather Chiarello, magna cum laude, Holmdel, NJ

Timothy Czech, Merrill, WI

John Foryt, Gulf Breeze, FL

Paul Foryt, summa cum laude, Gulf Breeze, FL

Revathi Kollipara, Fort Wayne, IN

Patrick Kramer, Akron, OH

Michelle Lundholm*, summa cum laude, Hoffman Estates, IL

Timothy MacKenzie, magna cum laude, Melrose, MA

Patrick McIntyre, summa cum laude, Munster, IN

Alexandra Moulton, magna cum laude, Royal Oak, MI

Tam Nguyen, Houston, TX

Andrea Palazzolo, magna cum laude, Champaign, IL

Matthew Peters, Rochester Hills, MI

Javier Pineda, magna cum laude, San Diego, CA

David Reeves, Knoxville, TN

Eric Ross, Paulding, OH

William Taylor, Houston, TX

William Trendell, Geneva, IL

*Honors Program

Biochemistry

Spencer Bruce*, Findlay, OH

Angie Chang, Camarillo, CA

Rachel Chisausky*, Peotone, IL

Mark Dean, Austin ,TX

Tiffany Fan, Miami, FL

Consuelo Garcia, Basking Ridge, NJ

Madelyn Huang, Superior, CO

Clara Jee, Seoul, Republic of South Korea

Curtis Kovaleski, Loveland, OH

Kathryn Kraft, Modesto, CA

Sean Liebscher*, cum laude, Colorado Springs, CO

Stephanie Maciuba, Skokie, IL

Erica Miller, Orchard Park, NJ

Rachael Palumbo, Palatine, IL

James Ropa, Avon, IN

Carol Rowley*, Oak Park, IL

Veronica Ryan, Concord, MA

* Honors Program

Congratulations! About a third of our baccalaureates will be pursuing a Ph.D. in graduate school, another third have been accepted to medical or other professional schools, and the remainder are entering the work force. May your degrees serve you well as you aspire to and achieve great things! Please keep us apprised of your accomplishments.

Graduations – Doctoral and Master's degrees

We are happy to report that since the last newsletter, the department has awarded 24 doctoral degrees and 13 master’s degrees.

Those receiving a Ph.D., along with their thesis titles, advisors (in parentheses), and graduation date, are: